


The Devourer Cometh.

by BunnyJess



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Abduction, Anger, Anxiety, Blood, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Canon Divergent, Cassandra Cain Is a Good Sister, Cassandra Cain is a good friend, Engaged Couple, F/F, F/M, Gen, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Jason puts up with it, Kidnapping, PTSD, Roy Harper is a Little Shit, Violence, crowbar wounds, familial violence, gunshot wound, implied Koriand'r/Artemis, minor injury, the Batfamily are idiots, they’re also judgemental af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25364641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyJess/pseuds/BunnyJess
Summary: Joker wants to play with Robin 2.0 again. He figures the best way to do that is get Spoiler. Shame he didn’t know just who Jason was.
Relationships: Jason Todd/Stephanie Brown
Comments: 23
Kudos: 159





	1. Chapter 1

A cackling rang out over the city of Gotham. A laughter that haunted the nightmares of every citizen. Pasty white face with blood red grin stretched too wide looking out from every screen.

It was all a trap. Jason knew it was a trap, the hostage a lure to get him close and kill him all over again. He couldn’t leave her to the clown though, he just couldn’t.

Strapped to a chair and silently begging him to ignore Joker was his ray of sunshine. His Batgirl. The one of only two Bats who truly understood what it would take to save the Narrows having lived there. The beautiful woman he’s come to love waking up with every afternoon and falling asleep beside every morning.

The Bats were out in force. Hunting Joker and trying to prevent Jason from killing the clown to rescue one of their own. They didn’t understand. They never would.

For them, his relationship with Steph was nothing more than a way for them both to get at Tim. Both having had their hearts broken by him in different ways. Steph’s through the love they’d once had and the lack of trust that tore it apart. Jason’s through the little gremlin taking up the mantle of Robin so soon after he was dead. He wasn’t even cold and the imp was climbing into his suit and claiming it was to save Bruce from the darkness.

Jason knew better, Steph had told him as much. She’d told him about how Tim had always dreamed of being Robin. Even making his own little suit as a kid. He’d jumped as soon as he’d noticed Robin’s absence and learnt about Jason’s death.

Luckily for Jason he had a few friends he could call on. With one call he had the Outlaws back at their base, an abandoned underground train station in the heart of Crime Alley where he and Steph had a convenient flat above its entrance. Roy had looked over all what the family were trying to do, how they were pushing Jason into running in circles with false leads or excluding him all together, and started suiting up as Red Hood. Sure he might be better with a bow but he was still a damn fine shot with a gun. Two could play the distraction game.

Oh what a game it was. Roy used every ounce of training he possessed and all the time spent working with Jason to act him wonderfully. He was crass, made too many references to his death and had already cursed out Bruce. With Steph being gone for five hours and Roy out as Hood for two of those it was an impressive showing.

The rest of the Outlaws were using a more cloak-and-dagger approach. Disguised as regular citizens or goons looking for work they infiltrated everywhere a Bat would stand out. The effort paying off with fresh information pouring in by the minute.

It all led to where Jason currently was. Crouched in the shadows near a skylight, watching Joker taunt his girl and using the warehouse as if it was the centre ring.

One deep breath. Followed by another. Green tinging the edges of his vision.

_Perfect_. Jason grinned inside his helmet, this one all blacks, blues, and reds to match the suit and hide him from Oracle and her cameras.

Glass shattering made Joker look up from his prize. As no-one came in shooting he began to pout. Scuffing the floor with his shiny purple, blood splattered brogues.

“Come out Batsy, it’s no fun when you hide!” The clown lifted the crowbar and pointed at Steph. Her purple Spoiler suit was torn but the under armour Roy had given her for christmas was holding firm. “You’re not the one I wanted this guppy to lure but you’ll do.” He finished in a singsong tone.

Just as Joker turned to look at Steph, gearing up to either mock the vigilantes or hit her again, Jason dropped through the opening. He landed in the stereotypical ‘superhero’ pose of one knee on the floor as Roy had _lovingly_ adapted his suit so it would reduce impact but only if he landed like that…the ass. As he rose he took great delight in watching Joker stumble.

The great show had been ruined. He’d expected someone dropping in in anger so sent his goons away. Leaving the boss to have fun with him. The clown hoping the shock of Steph being bound and beaten as he had once been would be enough to knock him off his game.

Joker had miscalculated though. When Jason was faced with his nightmares alone he’d been rattled. Off his game in a big way and making mistakes he’d never have made, not even as Robin.

That was years ago though. Back before he’d found his family and his own bright light to lead him through green, inky rage and back into the snarky man he was meant to be.

This time, Jason was still. No thoughts disrupting his plan. No panic shaking his hands. No memories trying to push the green further than he wanted it. Nothing except a hunter who’d finally captured their white whale.

He pressed a button on his hood and allowed the camo faceplate to clear. Steph let out a strangled gasp around her gag. There were no tears on his face, no fear twisting his features. Just the cold, hard face of one of the best fighters in the world; one of the few who’d risen in the League without them knowing he was Talia’s eldest. His skill earning him respect before any title could be bestowed upon him.

Joker clapped his hands in glee. “Prefer the red look Birdy. Much more our style. Allow me to add some more to that pretty outfit of yours.” He twirled the crowbar as if it was a baton.

“You made a mistake taking my girl,” Jason stated. He knew they were still being broadcast live and that his next few words would reveal more to the Bats than he’d ever wanted them to know. “You’ve worked with enough big names around the world to have heard of Devourer no doubt.”

For the first time since his dip in the acid vat and subsequent dance with madness Joker looks scared. The crowbar dropping from his hand, it’s metallic clang ringing in the silence.

“I’ll take that as a yes. See, here’s the mistake you made, you kidnapped one of the few people important to both Red Hood and Devourer. You know how I know? Devourer is the Red Hood, Devourer is the oldest son of Leviathan, the heir to the Demon’s Head. Worst of all though? Spoiler is his fiancée. You go against her and you are going against the Demon’s Head, Leviathan, and their family. The Bats are nothing compared to them.” With his speech made and the fear he’d been living with finally released and forced into his own walking nightmare, Jason raised his right hand. Light glinted off the chrome of his 50cal. Desert Eagle.

No last laugh. No final hurrah. Just a bullet to the chest and one to the head. Little remaining of the clown above the pelvis.

A press of a button and all the electronics not controlled by Jason’s suit shut down in a four block area. There was no central point for the Bats to track back to. Though they’d try.

Once secure in the knowledge the transmission was down Jason turned towards Steph. He dropped to his knees and began slicing through her bindings. Tears now flowing down his face.

She raised a hand, fingers mangled from one of Joker’s earlier goes at her with a sledge hammer while she hung from the ceiling. Gently she pressed her wrist to his helmet, the small chip activating at last and allowing her vitals to appear on his HUD before it collapsed up and back.

As soon as his face was bare Steph was leaning in to wipe away Jason’s tears. Stopping only when he leaned closer to give her a chaste kiss. More a reminder she was safe than anything dripping in lustful passion.

Back at their HQ Artemis and Jason set about patching Steph up while Kori and Bizarro dealt with collecting the visitors Jason knew would be coming. It wouldn’t be the Bats. They were currently trying to catch Roy as he dashed around the city. He’d disappear into one of the other abandoned lines eventually and make his way back to them. Until then he was to distract them and make them want to know who was really under the hood.

The door swung inward and bumped against the wall. Sharp clicks of stiletto heels marching closer followed by the scent of Jasmin, Oolong, and Honeysuckle. The weird blend of scents that only made sense on one person.

Said person had no qualms with smacking Jason on the back of his head while running their knuckles tenderly down Steph’s bruised cheek. “You fool. You should have told me or asked for help; I’d have been here instantly for you and my daughter.”

“Sorry Ummi,” Jason mumbled as he avoided looking at Talia. “I was just worried about her too much to think of anything until,”

“Until you’d pulled on your other gear.” She heaved a sigh. The kind of sigh that signified when a parent thought their children were being ridiculous. It was filled with a love and warmth Jason had craved until he’d met her and it made the tension bleed out of his shoulders. “Not to worry. That thing is dead and, as you’ve now outed yourself to your Father, you can return home with your team. I’m sure Stephanie wouldn’t say no to recuperating under the sun on Infinity Island with her future mother-in-law.”

Jason didn’t have to answer. He could already hear the telltale signs of Talia’s people helping Biz and Kori pack for the team’s trip. _Looks like we’re going on holiday_ , he thought as his mum pulled him into a hug and he looked at Steph. Her lashes fanned across bruised cheeks as she dozed thanks to pain medication and light sedatives. _At least waking up in their room on the island will be a nice surprise for her._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI this chapter made my husband cry when he proof-read it for me...

Sun beat down on the people lounging around one of the private gardens of Talia’s main residence. She had places all over the world but nowhere quite felt like home as much as her house on Infinity Island. It could have been that it was the one place she’d designed from the ground up. It was more likely to be because this was the one place she’d spent more time at than any other while raising her two boys. They’d made the place a home more than any design feature could.

The woman wandered across the grass to where her eldest and his friends were relaxing. They’d had a trying time of it over the past twenty-four hours and so it made sense that they’d be laying about seemingly doing nothing. She knew her child though and he was never truly doing nothing.

Just as she’d suspected Jason was laying in the sun with Steph’s head in his lap with one hand running through her hair while the other was occupied by a tablet. Talia frowned as she saw the hurt written deep in his eyes, clearly his attempt at hiding it from those around him.

“What has got you so upset Habibi?” She ignored the way he and his friends jumped. They had every right to relax in her home. No-one, not even pesky nocturnal flying marsupials could get to them here without plenty of warning.

He shot her a playful grin. One she’d seen back when he was Robin and doubted the family had seen since his death. He never smiled around them, she’d heard them complaining about it enough through her bugs to know he reserved them for those he really trusted.

“Never can get anything by you, can I?” He drawled, tone light. Talia merely railed an eyebrow in reply. She could wait him out, she’d done it before and would do it again. Jason huffed and looked back at the tablet. “I was reading the reports logged last night. They’re condemning my actions and blaming Steph for getting caught. Apparently my revelations just confirm that what they’ve always thought.”

He handed her the tablet and she saw green at what she was reading, a trait she only shared with her eldest. The notes at the end of the report longer than the official report itself.

_While his actions saved Spoiler it has proved beyond doubt that the Red Hood is beyond saving. He showed the cold calculating behaviours seen in every member of the al Ghul family excluding Robin. The Red Hood we believed we were working with all night was in fact Arsenal disguised so that R.H. could take out the Joker. All reports of his engagement to Spoiler are believed to have been exaggerated as it is felt that the supposed relationship between the two is only a way for them to unsettle and annoy Red Robin. Further research in Devourer confirms they have been active for the past eight years, never once stopping their murder spree around the globe despite assurances from R.H. that they had stopped killing._

_It would appear this was a pretence to gain our trust (further research required). The actions of R.H./Devourer show that Robin II did in fact die in Ethiopia and has not returned to us. Despite this person matching every known form of identifying characteristics of said child. This is likely due to the nature of his resurrection via Lazarus Pit and so they should be viewed as two separate people._

_Joker’s death has caused unrest throughout Gotham with many people celebrating such a violent murder. A murder that was live streamed throughout the city and Oracle was unable to block the feed once it became clear to us who had approached Joker. The subsequent black-out enabled R.H. to escape with Spoiler. Neither have been found so far (investigation ongoing)._

_When R.H. returns to the city, or is encountered in the field, he will be detained and charged with the murder of Joker. I do not believe prosecution will be sought as the city is viewing him as a hero because of his actions. This could be due to a number of reasons, the chief of which are that Spoiler was seen as a hero amongst many and Joker has been hated by them for a number of years. This does not mean our efforts will be in vain. They will show that no one person is above the law, especially those that wear our symbol._

_While I don’t believe this bares stating I will do so for accuracy; R.H. will no longer be aligned with us. They will not be seen as an ally and should be viewed as armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach alone. It will take a planned, multi person approach to bring them in._

_This situation has saved us all from the inevitable trauma of having one of our own turn on us. Spoiler getting themselves caught due to their lack of preparedness and training is a blessing in disguise. Spoiler had no right to be on the streets and continued to patrol despite numerous warnings of the dangers involved. It was my belief that they should have undergone further training if they wished to be out there, however, I did not feel this was my duty as I have never trusted Spoiler. Their background points to any training provided by us for the future gains of her father (see Cluemaster)._

Talia calmly handed back the tablet and grinned at her son. Everyone present knew that smile. It wasn’t the loving, tender one she’d given them all. It was the smile only seen if your life was about to be ruined. Directed at her son and the heir to the Demon meant that any who hurt him were in for a rude awakening.

“Leave this with me Habibi, I will not have you worrying about the beliefs of a pathetic control freak when your fiancée needs you.” With that she turned on her heel and stalked back to the house. She had some calls to make.

****

Jason looked down at the blonde woman dozing in his lap. Her face was still mottled with bruising but her injuries were minimal thanks to the under armour she wore. In the golden rays that streamed through the trees surrounding them Jason swore he fell in love all over again.

His brain ~~kindly~~ reminded him of the report he’d just read, of Bruce’s views on them both. It hadn’t hurt to know what they’d all been thinking about him. What had hurt was knowing the family blamed Steph for her abduction. She had become a formidable fighter since starting training with the Outlaws and Talia. Picking up techniques from an alien princess, an Amazon, and one of the deadliest women on the planet helped with that.

Joker was no ordinary criminal, costumed or not. He was predictably unpredictable and had so many of the Arkham guards blackmailed or on his pay roll that they could sometimes go weeks before discovering his disappearance. Usually only once he decided it was time for his grand show to begin.

In all the time he and Steph had spent around the other Bats they’d clearly kept their blindfolds firmly pulled down. They hadn’t seen the softness that Steph had given Jason’s once sharp edges. Nor did they see the way he had changed for her. Coming by the Manor, working with the heroes. He’d even managed to help Roy and Ollie patch up their relationship.

All they saw were two people who’d had their hearts broken by one of their own. Jason had always known Tim was favoured by the Bats. He had known it from the second Talia showed him the photos of a trouser wearing Robin flying through the skies. The kid was too much like Bruce but with a sprinkling of Dick added. It meant that he could cause a world wide panic or stock market crash and they’d praise him for it or let him avoid them without the constant surveillance Jason was always under while in Gotham.

One of his phones bleeped from where it sat on the end table. It’s metal and glass design increasing the vibration strength.

It was the phone he _only_ used for Red Hood business. A text notification was glaring at him from the screen. _Grayson_ was flashing at him and making bile rise in this throat.

Thumbing open the message while feeling relieved he’d not woken Steph he looked at the ridiculous message.

It was simple ready in one sentence Dick managed to sound both concerned and judgemental in so few words. _#Hey Jay, just wanted to check in. We need you and Steph back here to talk._ He huffed and threw the phone to Roy.

The archer wasn’t paying attention but still threw out a hand and caught the device. Years of being in the field enabling strong reflexes.

Jason watched as Roy registered what he was seeing. Disbelief turning to anger. Red flushing the archers pale skin, visible even through the thick layer of sunscreen Talia had bagged him into putting on that morning. She might have been Jason’s Ummi but she mothered everyone he held dear. It always made him smile to know she accepted his band of ragtag outcasts.

“Seriously?!?” Roy startled Artemis, Kori, and Bizarro out of their deep concentration of continuing Bizarro’s lessons in hair braiding. For some reason the defective clone had wanted to learn and the Tameranian and Amazon were only too happy to teach him.

“What has caused such a reaction RoyToy?” Kori asked. She was starting to look concerned as Roy began waving the phone, eventually throwing it over to the trio.

Sunlight glinted off the screen as it flew through the air. Artemis catching it as if it was Mistress. Turning the screen so they could see the message.

Kori began to glow. Orange flickering down her hair and green forming at her fingertips.

Artemis also looked livid but was able to control herself more than the alien and so reached out and took one of the glowing hands. Not a flinch at the heat felt there. Jason was impressed, he knew how hot those hands got and how easily they could burn.

“Do not worry my love. We will not be letting either of them leave, and if we did I’m sure Talia would put a stop to any foolhardy plans the little one has.” She said quietly to Kori. The orange and green glow beginning to fade at the gentle reassurance.

“Still,” Artemis went on as she turned to face the others, “we must find a way to put a stop to this at once. Along with reporting this to your Ummi.”

The big, bad Red Hood drooped his head in defeat. He knew how they’d all react. It was his own fault for surrounding himself with such strong-willed people that led to him being overruled in matters of his safety more often than not. He suspected they’d made a pact with Steph and Talia in secret as it hadn’t happened as often before they’d been introduced to either woman.

Roy nodded. “If need be I’ll go back to Gotham as Hood and round up the squad as backup prior to any confrontation. The Bats can’t take on all of the Narrows at once, especially if they’re focused on Hood.”

“You can’t,” Jason looked up sharply, startled. “They’ll incarcerate you. You know what runs rampant through Black Gate and I won’t risk you being exposed while injured. I, I cant face any more of you being in danger because of me.”

The group looked at him as if he’d grown an extra head. Steph slowly sat up, wincing as the movement pulled on her bruises. She ignored Jason’s ‘see’ look and just cupped a hand against his face.

“I’d dive head first into danger if it means keeping my Sugar-muffin alive.” She spoke with so much sincerity that Jason couldn’t begrudge the use of her nickname for him. A nickname they usually reserved for when they weren’t around someone as obnoxious as Roy bloody Harper.

“Yeah _Sugar-muffin_ , we all would; same as you’d do the same for us.” Said obnoxious best friend _kindly_ reaffirmed.

Jason just hung his head in defeat. His friends weren’t going to let that go any time soon, he just knew. He started to reconsider their friendship as he looked at the teasing archer. There was a level of protectiveness that shone from his body shocking him. Even after so many years with this group he still couldn’t believe they’d be so willing to endanger themselves for him.

****

Back in Gotham the Batcave was full of angry vigilantes. Each consumed by their own guilt or frustration and ignoring the elephant in the room. That shiny glass case that memorialised a boy they’d thought had come back to them. A good soldier who’d returned to continue their fight. Only for them to now understand that wasn’t true.

Sat in the main chair in front of the computer was the Batman, the shadows seeming to grow around him as he exuded the perfect air of brooding. Lips a thin line and chin resting on his thumb while his fingers steepled in front of him. His elbows were resting on the big desk that housed the numerous screens.

“Dick!” He bellowed across the noise, expecting his son to come running. He waits until he feels Dick behind him, his eldest is so much better about obeying his commands now than when he was younger. “Have you had a reply from Hood?”

Dick hid his cringe at how quickly Bruce had changed from Jason to Hood, the saving of Stephanie in such a brutal way confirming to them all just how dangerous the second Robin could be. Bruce had always been bad at balancing his emotions, preferring to wallow in those of guilt or anger and box up anything else. To have relegated Jason to Hood already, not twelve hours after the younger man’s display throughout Gotham, showed just how tightly he was locking up any betrayal or mourning.

“I only sent the text ten minutes ago B. Give the man a chance won’t you? You know what he’s like, Jason’s always been slow at replying.” Dick tried to joke back.

Bruce exploded from his chair sending it sailing down the rails set into the floor. “I gave him a chance! I gave him hundreds of chances! He is the one who wasted them all! He spat in our faces with that little display last night and must be brought in!” Bruce roared at his son. In this moment he wasn’t a son, not really. He was a solider who’d been given an order and had chosen to snark back at his superior officer.

“You think I don’t know that? I watched you do that. Hell, I helped! I had to put aside every time he’d tried to kill any of us just because _you_ were so determined to bring him back to the family. This is your fault Bruce. Not mine.” Dick screamed back. He’d been so scared for Timmy and Damian when Bruce had first suggested they bring Jason back into the fold. Hours and hours of talks culminating in chance after chance. All destroyed by the true Jason appearing to them all last night. The twisted, calculating hunter that always got his target; no matter the people he had to hurt getting there. How he’d managed to have a team for so long Dick had no idea, knowing that one of them used to be his best friend and the other an ex-fiancée. They’d been good once, then again, so had Jason. _Or_ , Dick pondered, _had he really? Most people are the products of their upbringing._

Alfred was reminded of how the pair argued just after Dick had moved out, the argument bringing up memories of a small, scared boy who’d always come to hide at his side during those moments.

“I told you Bruce! I fucking told you when you first started trying after his return you better be one-hundred per cent sure it’s the right thing to do. At least we know he does actually love Steph as he killed Joker just for taking her. More than you ever did for him.” Dick didn’t see the fist in time to turn his head or soften the blow. Instead, the strength of his father’s fist colliding with his jaw sent him tumbling to the floor. The area turning red as it became swollen.

The eldest of the Wayne children could do nothing but look up at his father. Only breaking eye contact to spit out blood and a chunk of tooth. He’d fought with the man countless times over the years. Always escalating, getting louder and louder as they attempted to tear chunks from the other. It was never more than words though.

Bruce didn’t appear apologetic in the slightest. He shook his hand out, knuckles cracking with the movement as he turned on his heel and faced the younger members of the team. “There are no more cases, no more patrols, until we find just where Hood has hidden himself away with his team. Any sightings are to be confirmed as the real Red Hood so we don’t have a repeat of _your_ failures from last night.” He then swept from the main areas of the cave and disappeared into one of the smaller work rooms.

Dick hoped it was to work out some of his stress. However, he knew the man too well and he’d never actively worked out his feelings in positive ways and probably wouldn’t start now. A gentle hand landing on his shoulder pulled him from his musings.

Looking up he was met with the pure black cowl his sister wore every night. The full face mask making her scarier to the average Gotham criminal than anything Bruce had ever done. He tried to smile. The movement pulling too much on his injuries and making him wince.

“He texted back just as Bruce punched you. Not coming back and happy with Steph.” She tilted her head then caught sight of the report Bruce had been writing before calling for Dick.

Cassandra wandered over and skimmed it. She was expecting a barebones report similar to the one archived from Jason’s return and the subsequent showdown with Bruce, Joker, and himself. Seeing Bruce write so much, condemning Jason’s actions when he was the reason her best friend had walked away was the final piece of a puzzle she’d not realised she’d been solving.

The current Batgirl looked over the information again and felt a chill run through her. Her little brother was lost to them and her best friend had followed him, just as she always would. She could see the pair were in love, could see the attraction and mutual affection they held for the other. It amazed her that in a family of detectives none of them could see what was right in front of them.

She had more she needed to understand before she could form a plan and so slipped away. The cave just as silent as it had been before her exit thanks to the occupants being too absorbed in their own work.

****

It took three weeks for any activity to happen. The Bats had been meticulously combing through every aspect of Jason’s life, searching for any clues as to where he and his team had disappeared to. They hadn’t found much, even the HQ being annoyingly difficult to find in the maze that was lower Gotham.

They’d just turned in for the night when Cassandra marched up to Dick and Tim, grabbing their arms and dragging them to the Batwing. She didn’t have time to explain. There was already a risk of Bruce finding out, she couldn’t risk him stopping them. Or worse, she couldn’t risk him forcing his way onto the mission.

As soon as the hatch bay doors shut she rounded on Tim and shoved him towards the cockpit. “Fly here.” She pulled some hastily written coordinates from a pocket on her suit and slumped into a seat in the rear compartment.

“Not that I don’t love spontaneous family bonding time,” Dick began, sitting beside her. “Just what are we doing Cass?”

“Checking up on little brother and Steph.” Both men froze at her words. Jason was a very touchy subject amongst them. The workload Bruce had put on them all had turned any residual positivity towards him to frustration.

Jason was sparring with one of Talia’s people when the woman herself walked into the room. On anyone else it’d have been a run. The daughter of the Demon was too dignified for such an action however.

The assassin made the mistake of breaking out of the fight to stand at attention for his Mistress. Jason seized the opening and had them pinned to the ground with a blade at their throat within seconds. His breathing having barely risen during the fight.

“They’re coming.” Talia said with little fanfare.

Blood running cold and grip weakening, Jason rolled to his feet. Making his way back to Steph was an unsteady process. Talia having to support him as his mind began to spin through scenario after scenario.

The Bats were coming.

The Bats were coming.

The Bats were going to fucking invade his home like nothing was sacred.

He tried to get out how he was feeling. Words sticking behind his teeth and tongue refusing to cooperate. The whole rant being more incomprehensible murmuring and shouted curse words in multiple languages.

Bursting into the room with Steph did little to lessen the voice around his heart. They’d come for him and would probably try to control his girl to get there. He would rather die than hand her back to people who didn’t see her true value.

“Calm, Habibi, they will get here and I will deal with it.” Talia rested a hand on Jason’s shoulder and felt some of his tension release. Her boy was hurting and afraid and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

When the Batwing finally touched down in the central courtyard everyone present winced at the backdraft. Shielding eyes as best they could or just flying above it.

The man of the hour stood front and centre. His team surrounding him while he used his bulk to hide Stephanie. He’d killed Joker for her, the same with Black Mask and his filthy obsession with torturing his fiancée.

Dick, Cass, and Tim walked down the ramp, stopping just before it ended. Their weapons weren’t drawn and they held their hands up hoping it’d show they were there peaceful.

“May I ask why you’ve invaded my home?” Talia asked as she stepped around the group.

“We’re here for…” Tim starts to say only for Cass to wave him off.

She walks towards Jason ignoring the rustling of clothes and weapons being unsheathed. She ignores Dick and Tim’s startled cries. The One Who is All ignores everything except the brother she’d only just been getting to know and the mop of blonde hair and piercingly familiar blue eyes peaking around her little brother’s bulk.

They stand a couple of feet apart, the gap feeling simultaneously like nothing at all and the Pacific Ocean. Cass looks at them in a new light. The protectiveness Jason is practically vibrating, shining from his very core. Love in the tilt of his shoulders, ready to push Steph away from any danger. The way Steph has angled herself to take the shove and roll with it. Her own protectiveness brighter than the sun glinting off her hair. Her love in the way she keeps shooting Dick and Tim little looks filled with malice.

It’s in that moment, catching the malice in her best friend’s eyes, malice aimed at the girl’s ex, that Cass knows they’ve seen the report. Some way, some how, they’ve gotten the report and know _exactly_ how Bruce has been speaking about them. Impersonal towards a son he was still mourning despite living and breathing in the sweltering heat of Infinity Island. Blame heaped on Stephanie. Blame that had been slowly turning to callous disregard and anger. Both now being made out to have concocted the whole abduction just to get a shot at Joker.

“Be happy and,” she starts.

“Keep each other safe.” Jason and Steph finish. It’s something Cass had repeated to them countless times. The phrase becoming one they’d share between the three of them.

Cass nods her head and meets Steph’s gaze. “I will miss you. I will also let you go and continue our journeys in my memories. You gave me words, the least I can do is help give you a future.” She sounds so heart wrenchingly sincere that Steph makes a strangled little noise. Tears slipping down both women’s cheeks as they realise this could very well be the last time they see each other.

“Little brother,” Cass flicks her gaze up, up, up, and up. Her little brother is so tall compared to the tiny suit memorialising the boy he once was. Would he have gotten this big if he’d have stayed with Bruce and never died? Did his health and happiness show that Talia was the better parent for him? Cass couldn’t help but wonder. “You were never scared of me. You never looked at my birth parents and wondered, what if. Where Steph gave me words, you gave me laughter and pranks. You are happy, now I will keep you safe.”

Quick as lightening she moves, the tips of her fingers brushing Jason’s chest. No-one else moving until she’s danced back to her other brothers. “Tag!” She calls out as she ascends the ramp into the plane.

“Oh come on!” Jason shouts out in an indignant whine. They’re game of rooftop tag having been played continuously over numerous years. All’s fair in love and rooftop tag. The strike fair even as Jason feels himself crumple just a little, his beautifully brave woman breaking down against his back. It’s too final. Cass finally winning the game to enable Jason and Steph to win so much more.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 is written ☺️


End file.
